


Trick-Or-Treat!

by TabithaHallows



Series: lalu one shots to fill the emptiness in my soul [5]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Romance, Awkward Tension, Babysitting, Crack Treated Seriously, Cute Kids, F/M, Halloween, Halloween Costumes, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Trick or Treating
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:41:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,595
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26696905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TabithaHallows/pseuds/TabithaHallows
Summary: Lucy takes her six-year-old neighbour Natsu trick-or-treating on Halloween. They had planned a matching costume at his insistence and had settled on Peter Pan and Wendy weeks ago. But kids aren't always great at sticking with the program. Lucy reluctant concedes with the last minute change but doesn't count on finding herself in Laxus Dreyer's dressed as The Man In The Yellow Hat.
Relationships: Laxus Dreyar/Lucy Heartfilia
Series: lalu one shots to fill the emptiness in my soul [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1496753
Comments: 8
Kudos: 40





	Trick-Or-Treat!

**Author's Note:**

> Okie dokie so I started this like a month ago because I thought it would be fun to write something for Halloween and it was only supposed to be a couple thousand words but I'm currently sitting on like 9000+ words so imma split it into two parts for the sake of simplicity. I know this series is for my one shots but imma leave it here anyway, I don't think anyone will really mind😅✌

Lucy adjusted the edges of her frilly blue tutu and then the elastic straps that held her sparkly fairy wings in place. Today was a very special day. Well, any day that she could dress up was a special day but this particular day was just that much more special because it was Halloween and Halloween meant candy and candy to the mind of a six-year-old was of paramount importance. 

"Lucy, your crown is slipping!" Levy, Lucy's best friend jumped up off the couch to adjust the sliver plastic tiara. "There, all done. You look so pretty."

"Thanks!" Lucy did a twirl, making sure her tutu spun just right. 

They were at Gramps house waiting and eager for trick-or-treating. Lucy's parents had been busy this year and so Makarov Dreyar, called Gramps by most had offered to take along with the other children. She was just excited to be here and be sparkly.

"You look super pretty as well, Levy." She made sure to compliment her friend. 

Levy was dressed as her favourite book character, Dorothy from Wizard of Oz. She wore a blue and white checkered dress with puffy white sleeves, glittery red flats and a little straw basket to collect her candy in. 

"Then we both look great!" Levy grinned.

"Yep!"

"You could have least tried to dress as something scary." Mira appeared in the doorway, hands on either hip with a dissatisfied curl of her mouth. 

Mirajane Strauss was seven years old and terrifying enough on her own to not need a costume at all. She was dressed entirely on bright red with devil horns and homemade wings to match. Her face was painted so that it looked like blood was dripping from her eyes and mouth. Even though Lucy could tell it wasn't real, she swallowed thickly. Mira really was already intimidating enough on her without bringing blood into it.

"Wow, Mira!" Levy beamed. "You look super awesome."

"I know." Mira smiled, brushing a long lock of white hair over her shoulder. She then laid her eyes on Lucy and her colourful costume. "What are you supposed to be?"

"I'm a princess ballerina fairy." Lucy did another twirl. "See?"

"Uh-huh." Mira seemed unimpressed. 

Lucy had tried very hard to choose one for weeks and weeks but it just such a tough decision. In the end she thought the easiest solution to her problem was to simply be all three. 

"Is Elfman coming?" Asked Levy.

"Yeah, he's here." Said Mira. "Hey! Elfman! Come here!"

A moment passed and they heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Elfman peeked his head around the doorway, peering at them all. Elfman Mira's brother and at five years old he was even younger than Lucy and Levy. Despite his age, he was already taller than most eight-year-olds.

"You girls look really great." He said softly.

"What are you hiding them?" Mira sighed. "Come out here, would you?"

Elfman nodded and slowly crept into the lounge room.

"Cool hat!" Lucy grinned, pointing at his head.

"You're like that guy from the circus." Said Levy.

"Y-yeah." Elfman smiled back at them. "I'm a ringmaster." 

And he was dressed accordingly with, as Lucy had pointed out, a top hat with a vest and twin-tailed coat. He even had a whip in the form of a coiled piece of rope. 

"ARGGG!" Cana suddenly leapt over the back of the couch, toy cutlass in hand.

"Ahhh!" Elfman screamed, ducking behind his sister.

"Cana!" Lucy gasped. "You scared us, you butt head!" 

"Arg." Cana poked her sword at Lucy. "Pirates are supposed to be scary. That's how they get all their treasure."

"I thought the found it on islands?" Lucy frowned.

"Nah." Cana shook her head. "I have this but real actual pirates and it says that they stole it from people and other pirates and stuff."

"That is scary." Elfman nodded in fearful agreement.

"Oh, stop it." Mira nudged her brother away. "Pirates aren't even scary."

"Are too!" Cana insisted. "They killed people and everything."

"What's that for?" Lucy pointed to the Sesame Street cup-tied to the sash at Cana's hip. 

"It's my ale mug!" Cana announced proudly. "It's so pirates can get drunk when they don't have treasure to get or people to kill."

"Ohhhhhh." Lucy nodded as if this was all very informative. 

Cana was six just like Lucy and Levy but she acted just as big as Mira and knew just as many things. That made Cana especially cool in Lucy's eyes. 

"I'm bored." Complained Mira. "Someone go ask Gramps when we can leave."

"He's helping Laxus with his costume." Said Elfman.

"So? That shouldn't take forever."

"Is that whining, I hear?" Gramps poked his head into the room next.

"It was Mira!" Cana immediately dobbed her in.

"I better not hear and whining tonight or we'll be coming home early." He warned. 

"We can't go home at all if we don't leave." Mira huffed.

"Shush!" Levy urged her. "I don't want to come back early!"

"Hey, Gramps." Said Lucy. "Where is your costume?" 

"Right here." Gramps slapped a pair of alien antenna on his head. 

"That's it?" Said Mira.

"Of course, this is it." Said Gramps. "I came to this planet to study you, Earthlings, in secret. If I make it obvious that I'm not from here, I won't get anywhere with my research. Now, stop asking me questions and ready to leave."

"Okay." Lucy nodded, grabbing her paper bag off the couch. 

She'd covered it with pom-poms, glitter glue, feathers and googly eyes, just for the occasion and she was very proud of her work. 

"Laxus!" Gramps shouted out into the hallway. "Come on, my boy. Everyone is waiting for you." 

Laxus, like Mira and Elfman, was one of Gramps actual grandchildren. He got sick easily so he had to be really careful before during the days leading up to anything really important like Halloween. Lucy was glad that he would get to come with them. Last year he had to stay home, too sick to even help hand out candy and she didn't think that was fair at all. 

Laxus came running in, almost tripping over the front of the long cloak he was wearing. The hood hung low over his face so that they couldn't see him at all.

Lucy laughed and skipped over to him. She leaned down to peer up under the hood. 

"What are you?" Laxus asked. "A princess?"

"A princess ballerina fairy." Lucy corrected. "Are you really in there?" 

Laxus lifted up the hood to show that his face had been painted as a grinning skull. Lucy leapt back with a yelp.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Laxus quickly apologised, throwing back his hood altogether to show his blonde hair untouched. 

"That's so cool!" Lucy gaped. "Levy look at this!"

Levy hurried over as called.

"Woah. What are you?" She asked.

"I'm the Grim Reaper. See?" Laxus held up a cardboard scythe.

"What's a Grim Reaper?" Elfman asked, tactfully keeping his distance. 

"It's this thing that takes your soul away after you die." Laxus explained, pulling back the too-long sleeves that covered far past his hands. 

"Alright, kids." Gramps clapped his hands together with a bob of his antenna. "Let's get some candy, eh!"

"YAY!" They cheered as one.

It was still fairly early and Lucy recognised lots of other kids and people out trick-or-treating. She would have gone and said hi to them but Gramps had rules. Running off wasn't allows and everyone had a buddy to hold hands with so that nobody got lost or left alone no matter what. 

Lucy's buddy was Levy, of course. Cana was with Laxus and Elfman was stuck to his devilish sister's side. Gramps walked behind them so he could keep watch at all times. 

At each house, they would take turns knocking and then all cheer 'TRICK-OR-TREAT!' and be rewarded with sweets and sugary treats. Another of Gramps rules was not to eat anything that hadn't been bought from a store and not to eat anything at all unless he'd checked it first. They'd talked about that at school, about how bad people sometimes put dangerous things into Halloween candy. Lucy thought that was just a waste of perfectly good food. 

Mira knocked at Mr Jura's door and he answered with a smile. He was dressed as Frankenstein in a grey suit with two plastic bolts sticking out from his neck. Aside from that, he was a very tall, very bald and very nice man the gave out mints by the handful.

Laxus knocked on the door of Miss Daphne. She was a strange lady who wore a cowboy hat, a lab coat and spoke with an accent. Gramps had reminded them all to mind their manners as they'd walked up to the house. Just because people were strange didn't mean it was polite to point that out. She handed out two pieces of dragon shape powered candy each while complimenting their costumes, speaking a little too quickly for Lucy to understand. 

When they came to the door of Mr Yajima's house, it was Lucy's turn to knock and she did so proudly. 

"Trick-Or-Treat!" They declared. 

It took a moment for the door to open as Mr Yajima was elderly and when he did answer, he smiled down at them all, toting his own pair of alien antenna.

"There's two of them!" Levy gasped.

"Woah!" Laxus looked quickly from Mr Yajima to his own grandfather. "Are you both from the same planet?"

"That we are." Mr Yajima nodded. "Keep it a secret though. It'll be big trouble if word gets out. We might even get deported."

"Okay!" They all nodded, feeling quite special to be let in on such an important matter.

"Now, candy please." Mira thrust out her white, ghost faced bucket.

"Right, right." Mr Yajima produced a bowl just as all the homeowners had before him. "Now, who are we all dressed as?"

"I'm a pirate!" Cana brandished her sword in the air. "I'm here to take your booty and loot and swag!"

"Well, I better comply then." Mr Yajima nodded in all seriousness. 

He dropped a candy bar into her bag and Cana beamed.

"I guess I won't run you through this time!"

"And you, young man?" Mr Yajima moved on to Elfman next.

"I'm a ringmaster, sir." Said Elfman, a tad shyly.

"Of course you are." Mr Yajima handed him a chocolate bar as well. 

It was the same bar as before and Lucy's face lit up. It was her very favourite of all chocolate and candy. Maybe he was going to give them all one, she hoped at least. 

"I'm a devil. Obviously." Said Mira, holding out her bucket again. 

"You can say that again." Gramps huffed behind them as Mr Yajima again, gave her a chocolate bar.

"And who is this under the hood?" 

"It's me!" Laxus grinned, pulling back the hood.

"Ah, I see! Young Laxus."

"I'm a Grim Reaper."

"I see that as well." Another chocolate bar. 

"I love these!" Laxus's was practically drooling. 

"I'm Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz." Levy informed eagerly. "It's my favourite book."

"Very nice, dear. It's nice to hear you kids read once in a while." And yet another of the same chocolate bar.

By now, Lucy smile reached ear to ear with anticipation. She just had to get one too, it would only be fair. They had to be fair about everything after all. That's why they took turns knocking on the doors and on the swings at school. Fair is fair, Lucy's teacher was always saying. 

"And what do we have here?" Mr Yajima leaned in closer as if trying to decipher it himself.

So, Lucy gave a twirl with a flurry of her tutu and said;

"I'm a princess ballerina fairy!"

"Oh, yes, I see now." Mr Yajima nodded as though he should have known the whole time. "You look very nice as all three, Lucy."

Her eyes twinkled and she believed him. Being all three had definitely been the right choice. 

Lucy held out her proudly decorated paper bag without hesitation.

Mr Yajima dug into the bowl and then pulled out- a different bar. It was different. As in not the same. As in not her favourite.

Her smile dropped but she took the bar and put it in her bag. No one seemed to notice the disappointment etched on her face. She knew she'd just look like a big baby if she got upset and Gramps would definitely scold her if she threw a tantrum so she didn't say anything. She honestly didn't feel that much like talking anymore anyway.

"Well, have good night kids. Stay safe!"

"We will!" Said Levy.

Lucy didn't really pay much attention to the rest of the night. Her mood was ruined even though she tried to ignore it. She was being silly, she knew that. Her dad would say that she was being childish. He was right but it didn't help her knowing that. She could probably get someone to trade if she asked and even if I was her favourite, it was just chocolate. Really, really tasty chocolate. 

As they were on their way back to Gramps, Levy squeezed her hand and whispered.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Yes." Lucy said quickly. "I'm just getting sleepy."

Once they got inside, they all headed to the lounge room to have Gramps check their candy and immediately start on everything he approved.

"You kids can go ahead and eat what Mr Yajima and Mr Jura gave you." He said. "That stuff should be just fine."

The others quickly began to dig in but Lucy pushed around her candy with little interest. She found the bar that had not been her favourite and looked at it. 

She decided she would eat this first as she knew that she should have been grateful to get candy at all. Adults were always telling them to be grateful for what they had because of kids that didn't get anything. Lucy could understand that but I still didn't help.

She stared at it for a moment longer and mentally berated herself for being so silly. Even if it wasn't her favourite, chocolate was chocolate. That was probably what her teacher would have said at a time like this. 

As she moved her little fingers to tear it open, Laxus spoke loudly.

"I don't really this one."

Lucy looked up. He was holding the bar Mr Yajima had given.

"What?" Mira frowned. "But you said that you loved them before. Make up your mind."

"I have made up my mind and I don't like them anymore." He said firmly and then looked right over at Lucy. "Oh! I actually do like those though!"

He pointed to the bar Lucy was holding.

"Trade with me, okay? You like these don't you?"

"Um, yes." She nodded. "They're my favourite."

"Good." Laxus held it out for her to take, his other hand open and waiting. "Then we can both be happy."

Lucy blinked and then smiled widely.

"Okay!" She handed over her bar and took Laxus's. 

Wow. She could hardly believe it. She hadn't even asked and Laxus had traded with her! 

"Thank you, Laxus." She made sure to tell him, the grey cloud that had settled over her quickly lifting. 

"Ah..." Stared at her for a moment. "You're welcome."

She turned her attention back to the chocolate. Her favourite chocolate. She really couldn't believe it. Halloween really was special!

* * *

**Eleven Years Later;**

Now, while babysitting wasn't the most glamorous of jobs, the Dragneel's paid well, had a hot tub and a seventy-inch flat-screen TV so Lucy had always figured that it was worth it. That fact that Natsu Dragneel, the six-year-old boy she had been babysitting for hours now was actually kinda cool and even cute on occasion naturally had nothing to do with it. 

The Dragneel's had moved in across the street from the Heartfilia residence when Lucy was twelve and Natsu only a year old. He'd taken an immediate liking to her. Back then, he'd been this strange little wriggly thing with pink spikey hair and a formidable set of lungs that could make a deaf man grateful. Not much had changed in five years now that Lucy thought of it.

Natsu's parents both worked and so she dropped off Natsu at school every morning as his was on the way to her own, Magnolia High. She also babysat every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday afternoon from three to six and stayed overnight every second Saturday from five PM when the Dragneel's had their fortnightly dinner date. It was also worth mentioning that it came with a surprising amount of job security.

Natsu was about twenty per cent wholesome endearing child and about eighty per cent, absolute demon spawn sent from the very pits of Hades. Lucy was the only person outside of his own parents that he accepted any kind of authority from and so, even if they tired, the Dragneel's weren't likely to find another babysit that he wouldn't scar for like under an hour. It was safe to say that Lucy had made a small fortune over the years.

Halloween was Natsu's third favourite holiday- right after his birthday and Christmas- and he took it very seriously. Costumes and trick-or-treating we're a must and as Halloween landed on a Thursday this year, it would be Lucy's responsibility to walk him around the neighbourhood, make sure he didn't get kidnapped, used his manners and then check through his candy at the end of the night. Which for him would be six PM. He had a strict seven-thirty bedtime that was not to be infringed under circumstances lest unholy carnage be reigned upon the house. Lucy likened it to not feeding gremlins after midnight. 

This year, after months of arguing and deliberation, she and Natsu had decided upon going as Peter and Wendy from Peter Pan. It wasn't her first choice but Natsu's had been set on minions for about three weeks and she most definitely was not going to let that happen.

She leant against the Dragneel's kitchen counter, texting her best friend Levy about meeting up once Natsu was home and she was free. They had decided to have a low-key Halloween after their friends Cana's alcohol-soaked rager last year that nearly got over half of Magnolia High arrested. They planned to put on approximately twenty pounds each in sugar and desserts and spend the night watching the entire Scream film series. And probably that Halloween episode of Garfield that gave Levy nightmares as a child. They were both looking forward to it but first, tricking-or-treating with simultaneously the best and worse child she had ever met. 

Her long blue dress was silky and smooth and her hair was curled and pulled back into a ponytail with a blue ribbon. It wasn't overly obvious who she was, but once she had the miniature Peter Pan at her side, she would be. 

That was where Natsu was right now, upstairs getting into his costume. She could hear him listing off all the different kinds of candy he wanted to score. That was a good. Silent, however was not. 

She told Levy to be at her place by six-thirty and then walked into the entryway to shout up the stairs to the second floor. Natsu had been up there for over twenty minutes and that couldn't have been a good sign. 

"Natsu, what are you doing up there? Hurry up or all the candy will be gone before we even get out the door!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Natsu called back down, she could hear the annoyance in his squeaky little voice and would have been more annoyed herself if he hadn't picked it up from her, to begin with. 

Lucy rapped her nails on her staircase railing as she waited. She stared at the family photos lining the wall across from her. She was even in several herself. 

"Natsu, I'm going to die of old age if you don't get your butt moving!"

"No fair! That's like no time at all!" 

Her brow quirk, lips pursed. Now that, he definitely hadn't gotten from her. She wasn't even sure how a six-year-old got to be so witty. 

"Just hurry up, would you?"

"I said I'M COMING!"

Lucy sighed.

"Are you stuck in the tights again?"

"No!"

"Then no excuses!"

Natsu didn't reply as seconds later he appeared at the top of the stairs.

"You're so loud and bossy today, Luce." He grumbled.

Lucy might have reprimanded him for that if her focus hadn't been elsewhere. Natsu couldn't have been stuck in his tights because he wasn't wearing them. In fact, he wasn't wearing his Peter Pan costume at all. Instead, he was wearing the monkey onesie his aunt had bought him for last Christmas. 

"Natsu, you were supposed to be getting dressed for trick-or-treating!"

"I was!"

"We're going as Peter and Wendy, remember?"

"I changed my mind." Natsu shrugged as if that should have been totally obvious.

"Nope. Nuh, uh. Not happening. We talked about this. You pinky promised me that you wouldn't change your mind at the last minute!"

"Everyone lies, Lucy."

"Now is not the time for your weird little kid profoundness! Upstairs and get changed!"

"No." Natsu pouted stubbornly, stomping down the stairs. "I'm George."

"You're getting on my nerves, that's what you are."

"Noooooo!" Natsu whined like she just didn't get it and held up a paperback book. "I'm Curious George, see?"

"When exactly did you change your mind?"

"Today when I was in time out for pushing Gray off the swing."

"Again?"

"He called me stupid!"

Lucy sucked in a steadying breath, rubbing a hand over her face. She should have seen this coming. This was classic Natsu all over.

"Fine. Fine, if you want to be Curious George then okay. Get your bucket and let's go."

"Noooooo." Natsu whined again. "We can't be Curious George and Wendy, that doesn't make sense!"

"It's fine, Natsu. No one will care."

"I care! I want us to match like last Halloween and Curious George and Wendy don't match!'

"You know what does match?" Lucy grinned wildly.

"What?" Natsu perked up.

"Wendy and Peter Pan."

Natsu's expression immediately dropped.

"That's not funny."

"I thought it was."

"I'm George so you have to be The Man In The Yellow Hat!"

"We don't have time for that." Lucy groaned.

"We do though!" Natsu insisted. He ran over to his school bag on the floor under the side table near the door. He pulled out what appeared to be a slightly crumpled yellow hat made from paper and glue. "See look! Lisanna helped me make it after I finished time out."

Lisanna was a sweet little girl in Natsu's class and his best friend. If the two of them were to share a brain cell, she would be the one to look after it in fear that Natsu would either try to bury it or eat it. 

"It's very nice Natsu, but can't I just wear this?"

"Nope. We need to match."

"Will the world end if we don't?

"Yes."

"Prove it."

Natsu blinked twice.

"...wear the hat or I'm going to scream."

"What have I said about emotional blackmail!"

"That's it's bad."

"Yes, exactly."

"Okay. Wear the hat." Natsu held it out to her.

"Did you not hear what I just said?"

"Yeah. I do bad stuff all the time though, this is just one more thing." He shrugged.

It was times like this when Lucy questioned if the pay was really that good. She looked down at her newly bought dress and wanted to strangle Natsu with it. 

"...give me the freaking hat."

Natsu's face broke out into a wide grin, bright and triumphant, missing tooth on the bottom row and all. 

"My dad has a tie you can wear!"

And that was how Lucy ended up going from Wendy to The Man In The Yellow Hat in under five minutes. She dragged Natsu across the street with her to change into an old yellow dress that she already had, grumbling as she out the silky blue one back into her wardrobe. She hung the yellow and black spotted tie she'd taken from Mr Dragneel's collection- she knew he wouldn't mind provided she return it in the same condition- and threw on her talk brown lace-up boots. And, because deep, deep down, she did want to Natsu to enjoy himself, she put on the hat. It was actually fairly well made. She supposed that was due to Lisanna's influence.

Then she handed Natsu his bucket. It was bright orange and shaped like a pumpkin, with a big crack in the bottom from the time he tried to use it as a step to get a second biscuit from the top shelf when he had only been allowed one. His parents had offered to buy him another one but he refused. 

Lucy grabbed his free hand and started leading him down the street. 

"Okay, so what are the rules?" She asked as they passed a large family also out trick-or-treating.

Natsu groaned and huffed but recited them none the less.

"No running off on my own, no eating anything you haven't checked yet and always say please and thank you. There. You happy?"

"Not even remotely, but it'll do."

The first house that they came to was that of the Conbolt family. They'd been there since Lucy could remember and just under a year ago, had bought a baby boy named Romeo into the world. There was a jack-o-lantern in the window and fake spider webs strewn over the picketed fence.

Lucy pushed open the gate and Natsu bolt straight up the door. They both knew the family so it was okay. 

He rang the doorbell excitedly, hopping from one foot to the next in anticipation.

"Trick-or-treat!"

Lucy smiled. See? He could be cute when the mood took him.

The door opened promptly and there stood the father, Macao with baby Romeo in his arms.

"Velcome~" Macao greeting in what he probably thought was a Romania accent. 

Both he and Romeo were dressed in vampire capes with high collars.

"Candy, please!" Natsu held up his bucket.

"Von moment." Macao stroked his chin in thought. "I believe you are Curious George and Vee Man Vith The Yellow Hat?"

"Yeah, obviously." Said Natsu, shaking his bucket pointedly.

"Oi." Lucy hissed at him.

"At least he knows what he wants." Macao laughed, dropping the accent. 

"Sorry." Lucy apologised.

"No problem." Macao pulled forth a large bowl from a presumed table inside. "Here kid, take two." 

Natsu's face lit up as he quickly dug through to pick what he wanted.

"What do you say?" Lucy prompted.

"Thank you." Natsu tacked on distractedly.

Macao laughed again, adjusting Romeo on his hip.

"Having fun, Lucy?"

"It could be worse."

"Don't forget to have some fun yourself, alright? Just not too much fun. Not like last year."

"Yeah, I think that was enough fun to last a lifetime." Lucy laughed awkwardly.

Macao was a fireman and had on the scene last Halloween when two of her classmates, Jet and Droy had accidentally set their car on fire in Cana's driveway. It really was a wild party. 

Once Natsu had selected his desired candy, they bid goodbye to Macao and baby Romeo before continuing on the next house.

They stopped by at old man Yajima's place, then cool married couple Alzack and Bisca, then Bob who lived in the culdesac and dressed like an angel. And not for Halloween. He just dressed like that normally. It was strange but he was nice and always gave the best candy. 

Next they stopped by Levy's house whom Lucy had to fight the urge to stay back and talk to. They quickly discussed Lucy's costume as Levy had helped her pick out the blue dress, but Natsu was eager to continue.

They covered three blocks before Lucy announced that it was time to go home. Natsu was only one boy after all and it was almost dark. 

"Nooooooooooo." He whined, stomping his foot. "I don't wanna be done yet."

"But you've got heaps of candy."

"So? One more street? Please? Pleaseeeeeeeee, Luce?"

"Fine." Lucy crumbled. If she argued with him now they'd be at it all night. "One more street but than that is it, understand?"

"Yes!" Satisfied, Natsu squeezed her hand and started dragging her to the next house with their lights still on. 

Lucy's feet were starting to hurt and she checked the time on her phone. They'd have plenty of time to get back so long as they kept moving. 

They stopped at the tall gate of the Dreyar family home. Lucy and Natsu knew them as well. The Dreyar's had been in Magnolia almost as long as the place has existed. At the moment the only person home was Makarov, the elder Dreyar. His son, from what Lucy remembered was jailed a long time ago for someone sort of gang-related crime and his grandson, who was a year older than Lucy, had recently gone off to college in the city. 

Ah. Laxus. Laxus Dreyar. Ridiculously tall and muscular Laxus Dreyar. Football team, wrestling championship-winning Laxus Dreyar. Yeah. Lucy happened to know a little more about him than she did his father. 

Laxus had been rather sickly as a young child and so didn't always have the opportunity to be put playing everyday. That was probably the reason why they had never been particularly close. He had been a very nice boy, happy and friendly despite being ill so often but somewhere a long the way his health issues had lessened. He'd filled out, had growth spurt after growth spurt and appeared to be an overall healthy individual. By this time they'd been in high school and Lucy hadn't spoken to him much.

He was in a very different social circle then she was. Than anyone was really. Let's just say that Laxus wasn't that friendly little boy anymore and had become the type to scoff at the idea of social circles at all. She recalled that phase he'd gone through, that THANK GOD really had just been a phase. 

He wasn't just angsty and bitter. They were all like that every now and then. He was this angry, volatile honest to goodness jerk that once punched out Warren Rocko's lights over a can of Coke. He'd even gotten into a pretty messy fight with an older boy from another school and ended up with a large scar over one eye to show for it. He'd almost been landed in Juvenile Hall twice before it was his grandfather's health took a turn for the worse. He had a heart attack and that seemed to be the wake-up call Laxus needed to get his life together. When he'd returned to school for his last year, he was almost a totally different person, although for the better. 

Most of this Lucy only knew because she was friends with his cousins, Mirajane and Elfman who actually happened to be the elder siblings of Natsu's friend Lisanna. It wasn't what you would call a large town. 

But none of that mattered because Laxus wasn't even here. He was probably at some college Halloween party, brooding in the corner alone. It was part of his charm not that she would ever admit that out loud.

"Lucy." Natsu tugged on her hand impatiently. "Can we go in now?"

"Huh? Oh, right." Lucy blinked, shook her head and unlatched the gate. 

Natsu raced off up the short path and then up the steps to the door. He and Makarov had always had a special bond. Lucy thought it was probably because Makarov didn't take his crap.

Natsu knocked and for whatever reason he found suitable, screamed at the top of his lungs;

"GRAMPS! TRICK-OR-TREAT!"

"Natsu!" Lucy scolded but she knew he wasn't listening.   
  
When the door wasn't answered in under two seconds, Natsu ponded on it again.

"I said TRICK-OR-TREAT!"

"Oi, you little demon!" Lucy grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the door. "Chill out, I'm sure he heard you the first time."

"GRAMPS!" Natsu screamed anyway.

"I will seriously remove your vocal cords, child."

"Yeah, I'm coming...fucking hell." Came the muffled voice from inside.

Lucy froze. That was most definitely not Makarov's voice. Before she had another moment to think, the door swung open and there stood Laxus. Yes, ridiculously tall and muscular Laxus Dreyar. Football team, wrestling championship-winning Laxus Dreyar. Crazy, rebellious phase Laxus Dreyar. 

"Oh, great. The pink-haired rat's gotten bigger."

"You're not gramps." Natsu frowned.

"No shit."

Natsu gasped.

"Lucy, he swore!"

Lucy opened her mouth but no sound came out. Laxus was here. What the hell? He wasn't supposed to be here. And his shirt was really tight and she could see the outline of his biceps and deltoids and she was in no way mentally prepared for any of this. And there was ALOT of this. 

"You want candy or not, brat?" Laxus held out a bowl.

"I'm not a brat!"

"Your not very convincing."

Natsu and Laxus did not have the special relationship that Natsu and Makarov did.

"Just give me the candy!" Natsu demanded.

"Here, have it." Laxus shoved the entire still half full bowl at him. 

"Woah!" Natsu went bug-eyed and Lucy immediately snapped out of it. That was WAY too much sugar.

"Ah, no, we can't take this." She said.

"Nah, go for it. This way I can lock the door and ignore the other trick-or-treaters." He studied her from foot to hat. "Nice costume."

"She's The Man With The Yellow Hat." Natsu explained.

Lucy flushed bright red.

"Um. Yeah. Is your grandfather home?"

"We got a sick great uncle or something." Laxus shrugged. "He's gone to visit and he left me in charge of this Halloween bull-"

"Ahem." Lucy cleared her throat and nodded pointedly to Natsu. 

"...Halloween business." Laxus rolled his eyes and as he did a small smirk graced his lips that made Lucy's stomach do a somersault. "So, yeah. Keep the candy, Blondie."

Lucy frowned.

"My name is Lucy."

"Yeah, I know." Laxus shrugged and for some reason, her stomach flipped again.

What the hell is going on down there? She thought to herself. Please, do not puke. This is the worst possible time for that. 

"Oi, Laxus." A voice called from inside. "You giving them a song and dance with that candy?"

A heavily pierced man with wild black hair appeared down the hallway inside the house. 

"Shut up." Laxus sent him a look and turned back to Lucy. "A friend from school. Ignore him. He's an idiot."

"I heard that!"

"Right, so..." Lucy glanced down at Natsu who was digging his hands through all that candy like he'd hit and the jackpot. And For a six-year-old, he pretty much had. "I've got to get him home so we should get going. Natsu say thank you."

"Thank you for giving me all of this even though it's not fair to the other kids."

Laxus scoffed at that and seemed to smirk again.

"Don't mention it."

Lucy helped Natsu pour the candy into his now near overflowing bucket and handed the bowl back to Laxus, trying not to make eye contact. 

"Here. Thanks. Let's go, Natsu."

She turned them around and was prepared to run for her life when Laxus called out. 

"Hey, Lucy?"

She turned back around almost hesitantly.

"Yeah?"

"Uh..." Laxus looked lost for a moment but he clenched his jaw and steeled himself. "Mira is throwing a little get together here later tonight. Just a few people, you know? Movies, bad food and shi- stuff."

"Okay...?" Lucy trailed off. Was he inviting her to join or...?

"You can come." He said a little too quickly like he was rushing to get the words out. "You can come over, I mean. Tonight. With everyone."

OH, MY, GOD. HE WAS. HE WAS INVITING HER. 

"Oh. Um, I actually kinda already have plans with Levy-"

"She can come too." Laxus added. "If she wants...if you want."

The two stood there staring at one another for a moment. If this had been a romance novel, the sexual tension would have been building but, nope. It was just regular old tension brewing between two incredibly awkward people.

The silence was broken when Natsu pulled something particularly exciting from his bucket and started muttering to himself about how awesome Halloween was.

"Yeah, okay, alright." Lucy nodded. "I'll ask Levy. She what she wants to do."

"Cool." Laxus nodding in return so that they were both standing there nodding at one another like the social interaction legends that they were. "Eight. It starts at eight. You can get here early or later though, it's not like a proper set time or anything."

"Cool." Lucy continued to nod.

"You both look like the bobblehead cat in my dad's car." Natsu laughed, saying things out loud that only a child could get away with.

"Okay, so we're going." Lucy grabbed Natsu's hand. "See you later, maybe?" 

"Right, yeah." Laxus went to nod and then stopped himself. 

He took a step backwards and all but slammed the door shut.

"Big kids are weird..." Natsu muttered.

"Yes, thank you for pointing that out." Said Lucy, turning on her heel again and fleeing for the gate.

* * *

'OF COURSE, WE SHOULD GO!' Was what Levy had texted Lucy back when she'd asked about Laxus's offer. 

Ignoring all the awkwardness there had been between herself and Laxus, it didn't sound like a bad way to spend the night. It would probably be similar to what she and Levy had planned but with more people, and seeing as she likely knew all the people who were going to be there, it wasn't going to be a big deal at all. 

Laxus must have let Mira know that he'd invited her and Levy because Lucy received a text from her by the time she got Natsu home and was checking his candy. Amidst the abundance of emoji's, Mira told her that she felt silly for not thinking of inviting her before and that she was looking forward to seeing her. She tacked on that it was going to all be very casual and that costumes weren't needed. Lucy dreaded the thought that Laxus had told her all about The Man in the Yellow Hat. It wasn't so much Mira knowing that she'd been wearing a giant yellow hat when by six-year-olds that was embarrassing, so much as Laxus acknowledging it and actually talking about it. 

The Dragneel's returned a few minutes earlier than usual. They thanked Lucy as they always did and paid for her the afternoon. They chatted for a moment, Lucy informing them on how the trick-or-treating went. The sudden change in costume, more candy than a child should reasonably eat in a week but no full-blown tantrums which is always a bonus.

Natsu sulked when she left. He tended to do that if he'd been having a particularly good time. He complained and whined and promised that he'd even share some of his candy if she stayed just a bit longer. He was an annoying bugger at the best of times but she promised to come around sometime tomorrow to hang out even though she didn't babysit on Friday's. She tried to pretend like Natsu didn't have her wrapped around his sticky little fingers but sometimes that was easier said than done. 

So, Lucy bid her goodbyes and headed home to get ready for tonight. She could feel Natsu pouting at her in the window across the street without even turning around. She ignored it. Once his parents had dinner ready and started his normal evening routine he'd be fine. 

Lucy opened the front door using her key. She kicked off her boots by the door and walked on through the large, quiet house, heading upstairs. It was dark inside but she knew the way without having the turn on the lights. 

Lucy's mother had died when she was ten and if Lucy had to have pinpointed when her home had become so quiet and dark, it would have been the day Layla Heartfilia died. It had changed her entire world as the loss of a beloved parent often did. But Lucy hadn't just lost her mother that day. 

Her father, Jude Heartfilia, was a high profile lawyer and when Lucy had turned sixteen the year before she'd finally come of legal age to live alone and her father had taken immediate advantage of that. He'd moved into the city to be closer to work and in Lucy's opinion, be far away from her.

Their house here in Magnolia had been her mother's dream. With friends and neighbours and local cafes. Small but not unheard of, families and communities but not overcrowded. After she died, Lucy didn't think her father could have ever been happy in their house again. She wouldn't have blamed him for that if it hadn't turned him into such a cold bastard. She hadn't seen him since he'd left precisely two days after her sixteenth birthday. He called once a month like clockwork, confirming that he had sent her the money for the house and her expenses. Each phone call lasted no more than five minutes and Lucy honestly could barely remember the words he'd spoken to him last. 

Despite all that, she didn't really hate her father, resented him perhaps, felt abandoned most definitely but knowing the man that he was now, she sometimes thought it was better that she saw so little of him. And of course, she was practically living every teenager's dream. A nice, big house all to herself? No curfew? No parent to scold her for clothing or language choices? If Lucy had been more of a hell-raiser like Cana, she would have been living the dream. 

Entering her room, she flicked on the light and gathered clothes for the night, setting them on her bed before heading into the bathroom to take a shower.

By the time she was out, Levy had sent a text that she was on her way. Realising that she hadn't eaten since lunch and that she hadn't even managed to snag any of Natsu's candy, Lucy ate cold leftover pasta as she got ready. Not in a sad way though. She actually really liked cold pasta. 

She pulled on shorts and a blue cropped shirt, throwing her white denim jacket and woollen thigh high socks on as well to combat the cold. 

Brushing out her hair in the mirror and putting it into a high ponytail, she pondered if tonight was worth some makeup. She wore it to school often enough but mostly just some eyeliner or lip gloss. On occasion, she just couldn't be bothered, especially in summer when she sweated enough to fill an ocean and the makeup with practically ejected from her pours. But it wasn't summer and it wasn't like they had to be there at eight on the dot so she put on her cherry flavoured lipgloss, with a little eyeliner and mascara to balance it out. 

By the time she was done, she heard the front door open and Levy call out. 

"I'm here!"

"Upstairs!" 

Levy's steps were light but recognisable as Lucy grabbed her phone, wallet and keys and shoved them into her purse. 

"Hey, girl~" Levy shimmied into the room with a big smile. "Ready to go? Oh, you look cute, Luce."

"Aw, thanks."

"Kind of a letdown after The Man In The Yellow Hat thought."

"Do not start with me, McGarden."

"I'm serious!"

"Well, you look-" Lucy sized her friend.

Levy was much shorter than Lucy, petite framed and blue-haired as she'd always been. Tonight she was wearing an bright orange swade pinafore over a cream, brown, green and darker orange sweater. It was paired with tall brown boots and a checkered scarf.

"Damn...you look cute too."

"So, we both look cute then?"

"It would appear so."

"Neat. You ready to head over?"

"Yeah, let's get going." Lucy nodded, starting for the door. 

"Ah, you might wanna grab a scarf, Luce." Levy gestured to Lucy's chest area. "Don't want the girls becoming beasticials."

"You've been hanging around Cana recently, haven't you?"

"She may have stopped by before I left to invite me to Laxus's not knowing that that's where I was going."

"Oh, I didn't know Cana was going to be there."

"Yeah...I don't think she was invited but you know Cana. As if that's going to stop her." 

Lucy grabbed her pale pink scarf, wrapping it loosely around her neck before leading Levy downstairs into the entryway.

"So, how was the rest of your trick-or-treating adventure? Natsu have fun?" 

"He had more than fun. Laxus gave him the entire freaking bowl of candy."

"Wow. I'd hate to be his parents tonight. Why the whole bowl?"

"He said it was an excuse to lock the door and ignore all the other trick-or-treaters". 

"Not shocking."

Lucy pulled on the boots she'd left at the door and then locked it behind them as the stepped outside. Levy had been right, it had definitely dropped a few degrees since Lucy had come inside. 

"Come one, let's go before Cana trashes the place and tries to do shots off her own body."

"If anyone could do it, it would be her." 

**Author's Note:**

> Annnnndd that's part one! Part two should be up in time for Halloween (hopefully) and will be posted as a second chap on this fic. 
> 
> Thanks for reading, don't be shy, leave me a comment and share your opinion✌


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